Bangladesh: EU Troika

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which people and organisations the European Union troika will meet during the mission to Bangladesh starting 23 January; what topics are to be discussed; and whether a report on the visit will be published.

Lord Triesman: The first visit to Bangladesh of the European Union troika of regional directors took place from 23 to 25 January. The troika's programme included calls on:
	Morshed Khan, Minister of Foreign Affairs;
	Abdul Mannam Bhuiyang, Secretary General, Bangladesh Nationalist Party, and Minister for Rural Development;
	Sheikh Hasina, leader of the Awami League;
	representatives of other political parties;
	Reaz Rahman, Foreign Policy Adviser to the Prime Minister;
	Hemayet Uddin, Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
	representatives of civil society; and
	representatives of the international diplomatic community.
	The troika made a public statement on the visit in Dhaka. A copy of the statement will be placed in the Library.

Children Trafficking

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will ensure that free legal advice is available for impoverished children, where there is a reasonable presumption that they have been trafficked.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: The Legal Services Commission is fully committed to ensuring that asylum-seeking children, and in particular unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, receive the highest quality legal advice during the asylum process regardless of whether there are any issues of trafficking. It is currently considering all options with stakeholders and the Home Office for future arrangements in this area of work.

Criminal Justice: Regional Offender Managers

Lord Ramsbotham: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What are the terms of reference for regional offender managers; and whether their responsibilities are the same in each region.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The terms of reference for the post of regional offender manager (ROM) were contained in the information pack sent to all prospective candidates in the summer of 2004. A copy of the information pack will be placed in the Library for Peers to read. The main areas of responsibility were advertised as identical for each ROM.

Criminal Justice: Women

Lord Acton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the statement by the Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 12 January (Official Report, col. 389) on the needs and characteristics of women in the criminal justice system, whether they are considering establishing a justice board for women similar to the Youth Justice Board.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: There are no current plans to create a national women's justice board. The women's offending reduction programme already provides the framework for the development and implementation of specific policies and practice affecting women at every stage of the criminal justice process. Additionally, a key feature of the National Offender Management Service will be the use of end-to-end case management that will ensure a co-ordinated response to meet the needs of all offenders through the criminal justice process. We will continue to examine what further or other changes need to be made in order to better respond to the needs of women within the criminal justice system.

Disability: Independent Living Task Force

Lord Ashley of Stoke: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the timetable for the establishment of the independent living task force.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Prime Minister's Strategy Unit report Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People recommended that a task force for independent living was established to develop imaginative new solutions and ways forward to actively promote independent living in a variety of ways.
	An official from the Department of Health has already been appointed to the Office for Disability Issues to set up the task force, and a scoping exercise is now under way. Proposals will be put to the ministerial group in spring 2006 and the task force will be established shortly afterwards.

EU: Budget

Lord Dykes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they expect the European Union Council of Ministers, the European Union Commission and the European Parliament to conclude the formal text of the inter-institutional agreement for the 2007–13 financial perspective.

Lord Triesman: The Council, European Commission and European Parliament are working towards early agreement of the formal text of the inter-institutional agreement through trilateral negotiations. The Austrian presidency is aiming to reach agreement during its presidency term.

Galileo Global Positioning System

Lord Rotherwick: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they envisage that the Galileo global positioning system will become operational.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The Galileo Joint Undertaking, the body managing the implementation of the Galileo programme, has said it expects the operational phase to commence from 2008.

Galileo Global Positioning System

Lord Rotherwick: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the Galileo global positioning system will have a weather system function available to European general aviation.

Lord Davies of Oldham: A weather system function is not included in the Galileo programme service definition.

HM Revenue and Customs: Warehouses

Earl Attlee: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many excise or bonded warehouses are registered with HM Revenue and Customs.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: There are approximately 800 excise warehouses, formerly known as bonded warehouses, registered with HM Revenue and Customs.

HM Revenue and Customs: Warehouses

Earl Attlee: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is their estimate of the number of excise warehouses that are registered with HM Revenue and Customs that mainly or exclusively hold and manage stocks for a third party.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: Third-party duty suspended excise stock is normally held and managed in general storage and distribution excise warehouses; there are approximately 330 such warehouses registered with HM Revenue and Customs. Centrally held records do not identify which warehouses mainly or exclusively hold and manage stocks for a third party.

HM Revenue and Customs: Warehouses

Earl Attlee: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have issued any guidance to excise or bonded warehouses registered with HM Revenue and Customs with regard to the disclosure of their location.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The Government do not provide any guidance to excise warehouse keepers on whether and how they or the Government may disclose their location.
	HM Revenue and Customs's Notice No. 179B, Mineral (Hydrocarbon) Oils: List of Premises, contains the addresses of mineral oil producers' premises and mineral oil warehouses. There is no such publication containing the addresses of other excise warehouses.

Local Government: Islington

Lord Greaves: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What were the costs to public funds in legal fees and in other ways of the recent Standards Board for England case against five Liberal Democrat councillors in Islington in which the Adjudication Panel for England ruled that there had been no breaches of the code of conduct.

Baroness Andrews: The Standards Board for England estimates that the costs incurred by the Adjudication Panel for England were £50,000.

NHS: Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation

Lord Campbell-Savours: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What are the names of the members of the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation; what were their qualifications for appointment; what was the date of their appointment; and when their appointments are to be renewed.

Lord Warner: The Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA) was established in 1997 as a successor body to the Resource Allocation Group. ACRA is an independent committee comprising National Health Service management, general practitioners and academics. A list of ACRA members is shown in the table.
	ACRA's role is to ensure equity in resource allocation by continuously overseeing the development of the weighted capitation formula. ACRA's membership is kept under continuous review. There is no set limit on the length of time someone can remain a member. New members are selected on the basis of their expertise and experience, or their position within the NHS. The appointment of members is approved by the Department of Health's director of finance, and the chair of ACRA. Membership is withdrawn either when people are no longer holding an appropriate position, or when they resign from ACRA.
	
		Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA) membership as of September 2005
		
			  Qualifications for Appointment Year ofAppointment 
			 Chair  
			 Mr D Fillingham Chief Executive, Bolton Hospital NHS Trust 2005 
			 Members   
			 Professor L Davies CBE Regional Director of Public Health, Government Office of East Midlands 1997 
			 Professor I Diamond Chief Executive, Economic and Social Research Council 1997 
			 Dr M D'Souza Head of the Unit of General Practice, NH & LI Imperial College, Surrey 1997 
			 Professor H Glennerster Professor Emeritus of Social Administration and Co-Director of CASE, London School of Economics 1997 
			 Dr R Hussey Director of Health Strategy, Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic Health Authority 1997 
			 Professor Sir B Jarman Emeritus Professor of the Department of General Practice, Imperial College of Medicine 1997 
			 Mr P Lilley Chief Executive, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 2005 
			 Ms R MacDonald Chief Executive, Bath and North Somerset Primary Care Trust 1997 
			 Dr S Drage General Practitioners Committee 2005 
			 Dr N Rice Reader, University of York 2002 
			 Mr D Roberts Unit Manager, NHS, Health and Social Care Information Centre 2000 
			 Dr Ian Trimble General Practitioner, Nottingham 2004 
			 Mr C Vincent Department of Health, Finance 2004 
			 Mr Keith Derbyshire Department of Health, Senior Economic Advisor 2005

NHS: Service Provision

Baroness Masham of Ilton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What assessment has been made of the potential effect on some elderly patients with disabilities of the proposals published by the Department of Health in its consultation document Arrangements for the Provision of Dressings, Incontinence Appliances, Stoma Appliances, Chemical Reagents and Other Appliances to Primary and Secondary Care; and
	Whether patients will be offered a guarantee that the current quality of care will be maintained or improved under the proposals published by the Department of Health in its consultation document Arrangements for the Provision of Dressings, Incontinence Appliances, Stoma Appliances, Chemical Reagents and Other Appliances to Primary and Secondary Care; and
	Whether the Department of Health sought the views of the British Healthcare Trades Association or individual dispensing appliance contractors before the publication of its consultation document Arrangements for the Provision of Dressings, Incontinence Appliances, Stoma Appliances, Chemical Reagents and Other Appliances to Primary and Secondary Care.

Lord Warner: The purpose of the consultation is for interested parties to provide their views on the options set out in the paper.
	However, officials at the Department of Health did meet with a group of the key trade bodies before the consultation started in order to outline the process. A clarification meeting was also held once the consultation had been published. This was organised by the British Healthcare Trades Association.
	Therefore, it is to be regretted that a number of companies with an interest in the consultation have chosen to raise concerns among vulnerable service users by making misleading statements about the department's intentions.
	Officials met the director of the British Healthcare Trades Association to express concern about the activity of these companies. It did not condone the actions taken and said that it could breach its code of conduct. It is going to look into it. However, it stressed how important it is that the views expressed by patients are taken into account. We agree completely.

People Trafficking

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 26 January (WA 200), whether the Advisory Group on Human Trafficking meets regularly; if not, whether they will take steps to ensure that it does so; whether the group's resources are adequate, in particular during the consultation period on the draft United Kingdom Action Plan; and, if not, what steps they will take.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The Home Office established and held the first meeting of its non-government organisation (NGO) stakeholder group in September 2005. Since the first meeting, the membership and remit of the group and the chairing arrangements have been reviewed. The group is due to meet again in February 2006 and is expected to meet bi-monthly thereafter. Meetings will be chaired jointly by the lead Home Office Minister and by the Solicitor-General with secretariat functions provided jointly by officials from the Home Office and the office of the Solicitor-General. The primary function of the group is to advise ministers on policy; as such it has no allocated financial resources for specific programmes of work. The stakeholder group was established prior to the launch of the draft UK Action Plan on Human Trafficking but was not set up specifically to advise on the consultation. It will continue to meet to discuss a range of issues relating to trafficking in human beings after the end of the consultation period. We believe these arrangements are adequate and appropriate to the remit of the group.

Peru

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 24 November 2005 (WA 237), whether the European Union has decided whether to monitor the Peruvian presidential and congressional elections in April 2006; and whether any requests have been made to them by non-governmental organisations in Peru concerned with democracy, good governance and human rights issues for assistance for election monitoring.

Lord Triesman: The European Commission has not proposed European Union electoral observation of the Peruvian presidential and congressional elections in April 2006. We understand that the European Commission delegation in Lima has not been approached by local non-governmental organisations to assist in the election monitoring process. EU heads of mission in Lima have no plans to recommend an EU electoral observation mission for the April elections.

Railways: East Lancashire Line

Lord Greaves: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the remarks of Jack Straw MP, quoted in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph of 19 December 2005, that the 25 year-old Pacer units on the east Lancashire line are overdue for replacement represent government policy.

Lord Davies of Oldham: It is for train operators to decide what type of rolling stock should be allocated to particular routes and when to replace them.

Railways: Westbury Interchange

Lord Bradshaw: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have assessed the use made by travellers of interchange between train services at stations, in particular at Westbury; and whether they intend to maintain or improve such facilities.

Lord Davies of Oldham: In planning service specifications for passenger rail franchises, the Department of Transport takes account of passenger flows which are best served by connecting services. Westbury station, where north/south and east/west routes cross, provides several such opportunities. The principal demand is for travel to London, and the increase of Westbury-London services to hourly under the new Greater Western franchise will improve connections for travellers from west Wiltshire. Demand for connections to and from the west is much smaller but will still be served, though with some reduction compared with present levels.

Rural Land Register

Lord Willoughby de Broke: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they expect the rural land register to issue all farmers with accurate and complete digital maps of their registered holdings.

Lord Bach: Farmers are issued with maps once the new parcel or boundary change to an existing parcel which they have requested has been completed. This is an ongoing process as farmers are continually making amendments to their boundaries.

Schools: Faith-based Admissions

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they agree with the recommendation by Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the Sutton Trust, that those responsible for faith schools should be barred from using religious belief as a criterion for the admission of pupils.

Lord Adonis: The law is clear that where a faith school is oversubscribed it is permissible for it to give priority to members of its faith, although there is no requirement for it to do so. This policy is consistent with the widely accepted and long-standing historical tradition of church schools. Faith schools cannot refuse admission to non-faith applicants if they have available places and there are insufficient applicants of faith.

Schools: Faith-based Admissions

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the use of religious belief as a criterion for the admission of pupils to maintained schools is compatible with Article 2 of Protocol 1 and Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights; and, if so, what their reasons are for this view.

Lord Adonis: Maintained faith schools in England and Wales, designated under Section 69(3) of the School Standards and Framework Act as having a religious character, are able to use religious criteria to decide who should be offered a place when they are oversubscribed. No maintained faith school may keep places empty if they have places available and applicants who are not of the faith wish to apply.
	Under the provisions of Part 2 of the Equality Bill such schools will continue to be able to use religious criteria. Article 9 of the ECHR recognises rights in relation to religion and belief, and in education terms the convention provides in Article 2 of the first protocol that no person shall be denied education. However, the second part of this article provides that,
	"the State shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions".
	Similarly the convention recognises the need for plurality and diversity in state educational provision, and the role of religion in society. The UK has a long tradition of "faith schools": education was historically largely provided by religious bodies, and the demand for such schooling remains strong.

Single Farm Payment Scheme

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many farms fall within the 4 per cent of payments under the single farm payments scheme which are not expected to be paid within the scheme's time limit.

Lord Bach: I announced on 31 January that full payments under the single payment scheme would begin in February. The payment window runs until 30 June, and it is expected that all payments that it is possible to make (save those subject to queries such as probate) will be made by that date.

Squirrels

Earl Peel: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In which places in the United Kingdom the Forestry Commission is carrying out controls of grey squirrels; and how successful they have been.

Lord Bach: The Forestry Commission undertakes control of grey squirrels on the public forest estate in England according to circumstances, through a risk-based approach. This approach has the aim of conservation of red squirrel populations and other features of high biodiversity and cultural value, and the prevention of damage to property and high-value timber crops. In the past year, areas of control have included the Forest of Dean, Westonbirt Arboretum and the north England red squirrel reserve buffer zones.
	Control is undertaken using best practice but this does not always lead to a successful outcome because of the influence of such factors as habitat type, weather and initial population levels that can vary from year to year.

Squirrels

Earl Peel: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the current estimated population of red squirrels in the United Kingdom; and how this number relates to the number under the red squirrels biodiversity action plan.

Lord Bach: There is no reliable estimate of the red squirrel population anywhere in the UK because it is very difficult to carry out an accurate census. Numbers are also subject to significant fluctuation depending on environmental factors and breeding success, but our estimate is 140,000.
	At present those working on red squirrel conservation in England believe that the population in England may be somewhere between 12,000 and 15,000. A large proportion of these are in Kielder Forest.
	The species action plan for red squirrel does not include an estimate of the existing population or a target population figure.

Student Loans Company

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What are their current estimates of the necessary increase in borrowing by the Student Loans Company in order to provide up-front loans for all students from (a) England, and (b) other European Union countries for 2006–07; 2007–08; and 2008–09.

Lord Adonis: The Student Loans Company (SLC) does not borrow to make loans to students. Money is paid to students by SLC on behalf of the Secretary of State, and the Department for Education and Skills makes appropriate funds available to SLC for this purpose.
	The planned resource cost to the Government of providing up-front loans for fees for (a) English domiciled students attending UK HEIs will be £131 million in financial year 2006–07, rising to £324 million in financial year 2007–08; and for (b) students from other European Union countries attending English and Welsh HEIs will be £10 million in financial year 2006–07, rising to £25 million in financial year 2007–08. The assumptions for fee loans for these estimates are that 25 per cent of new students in 2006–07 are charged the standard rate fee and 75 per cent charged the maximum fee, producing an average fee of £2,550. The figures also assume 80 per cent take-up of fee deferral by both new and continuing students and 50 per cent of academic year expenditure in the same financial year, 50 per cent in the next. The resource figures are calculated at a fee loan RAB charge of 33 per cent
	We do not currently have estimates for financial year 2008–09, which will be considered as part of the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review.

US Trade Deficit

Lord Dykes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is their assessment of the risk of disruptive market adjustments in the aftermath of the Bank of England's warning on the effects of the growing United States trade deficit.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: Financial markets react on an ongoing basis to a wide range of factors including announcements providing new information. Markets can sometimes move noticeably in the short term in response to specific events or announcements, particularly where these were unanticipated by the market. However, it is very difficult to isolate the longer-term impact on financial markets from any one announcement.

Water Shortages: East Anglia

Baroness Hilton of Eggardon: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What plans they have to support research into, and to overcome, projected water shortages in East Anglia.

Lord Bach: The Environment Agency is the statutory body with a duty to manage water resources in England and Wales. As part of the agency's management role, it has both national and regional water resource strategies which set out the pressures over the next 25 years.
	Water companies have statutory duties to maintain adequate supplies of water. They have 25-year water resource plans which complement the agency strategies and seek to reconcile supply with anticipated demand. These water resource plans are produced voluntarily every five years at present, but will become a statutory requirement under the provisions of the Water Act 2003.
	Research required to inform solutions to any projected water shortages would be undertaken by the water companies involved or the Environment Agency. The department has no current plans to support any such research.